Arsenal head into the match having drawn 3-3 with West Ham United last weekend, a game which highlighted their defensive vulnerability as Andy Carroll netted a hat-trick.

The Gunners simply could not live with the England international striker’s power in the air, and this weekend they will face a similar test from Palace as Pardew’s men love to get the ball wide.

Speaking ahead of the encounter, the Palace boss warned his upcoming opponents that his strike partnership have the size, power and pace to really make a difference.

“Players of that size, power and pace can terrorise defences. And that's what we want Connor (Wickham) and Ade (Adebayor) to do for us,” Pardew told the London Evening Standard.

“Connor's had some terrific games for us but just not enough of them. We've really missed his presence at times, we took Adebayor in the last window because we were struggling to get Connor on the pitch.”

Adebayor and Wickham, if they both start at the Emirates, will cause plenty of problems for the Arsenal defence, but the Eagles’ main source of threat will come from their pace and trickery on the wings.

The Gunners failed to stop West Ham from putting crosses into the box, and they cannot afford to do the same when Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha pick the ball up in wide areas.

Tom Thorogood

I'm a 27 year old language teacher and writer based out in Mexico with a passion for football and swimming. I like to focus on the top European Leagues, especially La Liga, as well as the footballing development in Central and South America. My favourite teams include Derby County, Barcelona and Jagaures de Chiapas.